


Wilding

by MidasTheCursedKing



Series: Wilding [1]
Category: The Wandering Inn - pirateaba
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26203756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidasTheCursedKing/pseuds/MidasTheCursedKing
Series: Wilding [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902979
Kudos: 4





	1. Part I - Wake

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Wandering Inn](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/676681) by Pirateaba. 



**Part I – Wake**

**An original story by “Midas” Based on** [ **The Wandering Inn** ](https://wanderinginn.com/) **novels by** [ **Pirateaba** ](https://www.patreon.com/pirateaba) **.**

I woke up and found myself staring at the underside of a tree’s canopy. Now, this wouldn’t be the first time I’d woken up this way, I did spend an awful lot of time wandering the woods, but this time was different because I could’ve sworn I went to sleep last night in my bed. Was I still asleep? Am I dreaming?

“Ouch.” Pinching myself proved that I was, in fact, not dreaming.

My second thought was that I was mistaken. That I had remembered incorrectly and had fallen asleep on one of my hikes. Sitting up and looking around was enough to dissuade me of that notion. I was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a loose-fitting shirt, things I wouldn’t have worn out on a hike. No, these were the pajamas I put on last night before climbing into bed.

As I stood, a second theory came to mind. Perhaps this was a prank. Maybe someone moved me into the woods while I slept. I had seen this done in camping movies before, that’s probably how the pranksters got the idea. Or maybe I had walked out of my house in my sleep and wandered into the forest. While that was a possibility, I hadn’t sleepwalked in a couple years, and to do so all of a sudden again and this far away, wasn’t as believable.

I brushed the remains of the forest floor from my clothes and took another look at my surroundings. Nothing looked familiar about my surroundings. I felt a moment of panic take over my puzzled feelings at this impossible scenario, and my heart began beating faster. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Panicking is what got people killed in these kinds of situations. I didn’t see anyone around when I looked, but that didn’t mean the potential pranksters weren’t just hiding nearby choking back their laughter.

“HELLO?!” I shouted.

The only response was the sound of a flock of birds taking flight from a nearby treetop after being startled by my shout.

“Alright, you got me! I don’t know how you got me out here, but I’m actually kind of impressed.” I paused and waited for them to appear.

Silence.

“Is anyone out there? Show yourselves!” a nervous chuckle escaped my lips.

Still, no one answered me. I had to struggle to keep my voice steady at the end, fear creeping up my throat to strangle my words. I had to take another deep breath. If no one was out here, I’d have to take matters into my own hands. I took a moment to think about my situation. I had two options; I could sit tight and wait for rescue, or I could walk and look for a stream. Staying put relied upon others to realize I was missing, find out where I went, and then rescue me, which could take days I may not have. I wasn’t so keen on staying put.

With that said, my other option was to look for a river. Not only would that provide me with a source of water, which was important to keep me hydrated, but streams and rivers would either flow towards a lake or the ocean. Following a river would likely lead me to a city or town built along side the river before I ever even reached the ocean. Worst case scenario I’d have to walk a very long ways away from where I was until I came across a port city by the ocean.

I decided to act. Finding and following a river seemed like my best option. I hoped.

\---

With no way to tell the time, I kept my eye on the sun’s movement across the sky. From the way the shadows had moved since I woke up, I guessed that I was walking South. That was good, considering that was the direction I wanted to be going in. I also guessed that I must’ve woken in the late morning, because the sun was already almost directly overhead, and the temperature was starting to get warmer. It was slow going but navigating the woods off trail wearing only socks demanded I take a slower pace.

As I crested the small hill in front of me, I was greeted by a most welcome sight, a small stream snaked its way through the small adjoining vale. Ankle deep, it ran clear and free of debris. Still, I hesitated to drink from it. Then something caught my eye; a strange bush on the embankment was decorated with what I had assumed were small white flowers. When I got closer though, I realized that they weren’t flowers, but little berries that slightly resembled raspberries or blackberries.

I had never seen such an odd little fruit. Tentatively I picked one from the bush and inspected it closer. It looked and felt exactly like a little blackberry, but the bright white color was very unsettling. I carefully tore the fruit apart and was met by a sweet smell of raw meat and the color red. The fruit bled into my hands. I dropped what remained on the ground quickly and wiped my hands on my sweatpants, staining them with red in the process. I didn’t know my wild plants all that well, but still I knew enough that a white berry that smelled like meat was bizarre. Although, while weird, it was far from unexplainable, there were a ton of plants, and I didn’t know them all.

I continued to follow the stream. Its soft gurgling my only companion.

\---

It was past noon now, and I was getting hungry. The only source of food I’d come across were those white berries. Similar bushes grew alongside the stream every couple of yards or so, and they seemed plentiful. I had yet to see any wildlife other than birds, and none of them were eating the white berries, which wasn’t a good sign.

I stopped at the next berry bush I found and sat down in front of it. I hadn’t developed any rash or skin condition where the juice had touched me earlier, so I daringly moved to the next step of testing the berries. I picked my target from the bush and slowly brought it to my mouth. I stuck out my tongue and touched the tip of it to the berry. It wasn’t enough to taste it, but I’d have to wait to see if my tongue swelled at all before I’d risk eating one.

I stepped over to the stream and looked at my reflection. I stared back at me. I splashed my face before I gave myself time to think about my situation. The water was cool and refreshing, and I let some drip into my mouth. That was a mistake, because once I tasted those couple of drops, I realized how thirsty I had become. Hiking for half a day in the midst of summer had taken its toll.

After a second’s hesitation with my instincts screaming at me to be careful and to not drink untreated water, I couldn’t help myself and began greedily drinking from the stream. Once I had my fill, I leaned back and took a breath, relieved I had finally quenched my thirst. I hoped it wouldn’t leave me with an upset stomach later, as that would really impede my ability to make good time through these woods and make it out.

I wasn’t out of the proverbial and literal woods yet.

\---

The stream had widened only marginally, and I had only come across a couple of small tributaries. It became apparent I still had a way to go before I reached any kind river or lake. I took a moment to lean against the base of a tree and appreciate the beauty of the trees as a slight breeze found its way to my sweat-drenched face. Then I was on my way again.

The next time I looked up it was late afternoon and I had to accept there was no end in sight to these woods. I was exhausted, but it was becoming ever more obvious I was going to end up waking up in these woods again. I had come across a small clearing with grass, not far from the stream and where I was going to make camp tonight. From what I could see of the sky, I didn’t think it would rain tonight, or be too cold, which meant I was in luck.

It only took me the good part of an hour to make myself a thick bed of pine needles and leaves from what had fallen to the forest floor and whatever I could scavenge that was within my reach. Now came the hard part, lighting a fire. After a bit of exploration away from the clearing I found what I needed. I quickly built a fire and prepared my scavenged tinder on top of a thicker log. I pulled the drawstring from my sweatpants and tied it to a curved branch I had found, making myself a bow drill.

I sat there spinning that bow, hoping for the tinder to smolder. When small wisps of smoke began to rise, I migrated the burning clump to my awaiting pile of fuel and blew gently. Within moments I had a nice sized fire and a loose waistband, a small price to pay for light and warmth. I was immensely proud that I had practiced lighting fires this way, otherwise, I would be going to sleep cold tonight. The fire burned away as the sun began to set. Before was a small pile of the white berries I had scavenged on my walk. I stared at the berries, waiting for them to make the first move.

It’d been hours since I first tested them, and I still hadn’t shown any adverse reactions, and now I decided it was time for the final test. I hastily popped one in my mouth and bit down. Sweet juices flooded my mouth, and I forced myself to swallow it. The berry had a taste that was difficult to describe. It tasted like a blackberry that wanted to taste like a slice of ham and wasn’t doing that great of a job of it. It wasn’t awful though, and I quickly found myself eating more. I had to stop myself before I ate the whole pile. They clearly weren’t deadly, but they still had the potential to make me sick. I lied back on my bed of forest detritus as stars began to peak through the dimming sky.

\---

I tended to my fire, as the sun finally set, and the moon began to rise. I poked at the coals with a stick, a small breeze carried a slight chill with it. I began to plan for tomorrow, I’d have to keep following the stream in hope of finding the end of this apparently massive forest, or at least a house or some sign of civilization. I’d bring more of these berries with me to eat while I walked. I couldn’t live off these berries, they weren’t that great tasting anyways, but hopefully I wouldn’t have to.

I looked up and found I didn’t recognize any of the constellations. I spent some time looking for The Ursa Major, Orion’s Belt, or the little dipper, but even the North star wasn’t where it should’ve been. Where was the North Star? It’s supposed to be visible year-round. I frantically searched the night sky until I saw something made my heart skip a beat. A second moon had shown itself in the sky above my clearing. One slightly normal, if a little yellow moon, and a second greenish moon close behind.

Dread. Fear. Panic. For the first time today, I allowed it sink in that I completely and utterly lost, with no recollection of how I got here and alone. Tears stung my eyes, thoughts raced through my mind, scrambling to make sense of what was going on, but I had more questions than answers. I was in a strange place, with weird berries, and two moons. It took a minute to pull myself together. None of this changed what I had to do. I was still lost, still hungry, and still had to follow the stream tomorrow. I was wrong about one thing though. As an otherworldly howl tore through the night, the woods came alive. I found I wasn’t alone.


	2. Part II - Blood

**Part II - Blood**

**An original story by “Midas” Based on[The Wandering Inn](https://wanderinginn.com/) novels by [Pirateaba](https://www.patreon.com/pirateaba).**

[Survivor Class Obtained!]

[Survivor Level 2!]

[Skill – Forage obtained!]

[Skill – Simple Dowsing obtained!]

I sat up so fast it made my head spin. I thought I had heard a voice while I was asleep. No, not a voice, a thought. A thought in my head, but not one of my own. I rubbed at my ears, to make sure I wasn’t just hearing things. I looked around, everything seemed peaceful. I was still in my little clearing in the woods, the stream continued to gurgle softly at the edge. I was still here, in this nightmare, far from home.

Warm coals were all that remained of my fire. Small tendrils of smoke slowly rose from the ashes, barely visible in the early morning light. What was it that the voice had said in my mind? A ‘Skill’ I obtained? Simple dowsing? No, not simple dowsing, but…

“[Simple Dowsing].” I concluded my thought aloud.

Instantly I felt my attention get pulled towards the brook. Instinctively, I stood and walked over to it. I gazed down at my reflection. To my dismay, I found my hair was a mess of leaves and pine needles. I kneeled on the bank and bent over to wash my face and get a drink. Cupping my hands together I brought the clear liquid to my lips and drank greedily. It was incredibly refreshing in the crisp early morning air. Leaning back, I let out a sigh. When I opened my eyes again, I noticed another source of drinkable water. Dew had gathered on the leaves of a plant beneath one of the trees bordering the clearing.

I considered again what the voice had told me. Dowsing was an old method for finding potable water. Had ‘activating’ my skill led me back to the stream and helped me notice the dew? The stream would have been the closest source of water to me at the time. I pondered what that could mean. The other Skill the voice had said was [Foraging]. Would that Skill lead me to food like dowsing had led me to water? I decided it was worth giving a try.

“[Forage].” I said aloud.

Instantly several spots in my mind lit up telling me there was food nearby. I made my way over to one. At the base of a tree was a small clump of little brown mushrooms, the kind I was certain I had eaten before. Against my better judgement, I grabbed a handful and put one in my mouth. It tasted like, well, like a mushroom. Investigating where the other spots had appeared led me to finding similar clumps of the little mushrooms and more of the white berries I had eaten earlier. I had Skills and a Class now, but no idea what any of it meant.

Returning to my clearing, I picked through the remains of my campfire and found what I was looking for. A small branch with just a bit of charring on the end. I picked up one of the now cool pieces of charcoal and crushed it in my hand. I rolled the charred tip of my stick in the black dust, then before I could change my mind, I began to chew on the end of it. The taste of charcoal was not pleasant, but the consequences of neglecting my oral health were even worse.

“What I wouldn’t give for some basic toiletries,” I said to myself.

Then I continued to follow the brook downstream.

\---

“[Forage],” I spoke.

This time I was led by my skill to a small plant sticking out of the ground. Curious, I pulled on it by the stem. From beneath the soil came a small tuber, which tasted sweet if not mostly like water. I kept the stem with me so I could identify the tubers, should I come across more of them, since my [Forage] Skill didn’t always work. It had a cooldown of a couple of hours in between each use. My [Simple Dowsing] Skill had a similar cooldown. My midday meal now consisted completely of the meaty white berries, a couple mushrooms, and the occasional tuber. Eventually I knew I would have to hunt; without a decent source of protein, I wouldn’t last out here for long.

While lost in thought I didn’t notice the new smell in the air right away. It smelled like rotting roadkill. At first, I thought it was some of my white berries that had gone bad, but that wasn’t the case. Following the smell took me a small distance away from the stream towards a more densely packed area of trees. It was in a small grove I found the source of the smell. An injured doe was lying on its side, bleeding from its abdomen. From my vantage point I could see the blood pooling between its legs and its chest rising and falling with every breath.

An injury this bad must have been recent if the doe was still alive. I crept closer, as dark thoughts flooded my mind. The large doe was obviously in pain, so killing it would be an act of mercy, right? It would be the humane thing to do to put it out of its misery. I didn’t know if I had the heart to end its life though. As I got closer the smell grew stronger and I could hear the flies buzzing around the deer. Before I could come to a decision on what to do, it was made for me. The doe stopped breathing.

Where relief at having avoided a difficult decision had once flooded my chest was quickly replaced with fear. The chest had stopped moving, but now the stomach area bulged and stretched larger. I realized with a sickening horror that the deer had already been dead for a long time. The movement of its chest hadn’t been the deer breathing. Something had crawled inside the carcass and was eating it from the inside out.

And it had noticed me.

Petrified, I watched as something almost as large as I was crawled out of the gaping wound on the belly of the deer. Slithering out into the glen, blood dripped off its dark carapace onto the grass. The thing’s upper torso twisted in my direction and its pincers twitched angrily as it chittered at me. Dropping down onto its too many legs it began to scuttle towards me. A furious screech from its gaping mouth was enough to shock me out of my stupor and start running away.

I did not need to look back to know it was following me, I could hear it getting closer. Adrenaline pumped through my body as I wove in between the trees, desperately trying to get away from whatever this thing chasing me was. I did _not_ want to end up like that deer. Panting heavily, I came back to the brook and almost fell in as I tried to leap across. I was not naïve enough to believe that little bit of water would be enough to get in the way of the thing following me, and sure enough I soon heard vigorous splashing as it continued to chase me.

The part of the woods on the other side of the brook was littered with the occasional boulder and rock face. I did not have time to appreciate the large stones though, as I had a massive bug trying to eat me hot on my heels. I could feel it getting closer, by a sense of dread for my impending doom and painful death at the hand- _pincers and teeth_ \- of a giant bug. I had to act quickly, or I would eventually tire and be caught. Somewhere from the recesses of my mind I had the bright idea to climb the tree. Without a second thought I started looking for a tree I could climb to get out of the way of my pursuer’s path. I spotted a suitable candidate not too far away; I could make it.

Sweat poured down my face and blood pounded in my ears. I heard the scuttling grow closer and I made the mistake of looking over my shoulder. I was rewarded with a searing pain across my lower back as the thing’s mandibles scored my flesh. I felt warm blood soak into my shirt and panic seep into my bones. I nearly stumbled at the hit, but another burst of adrenaline had me sprinting away.

I reached the base of the tree and leapt up to grab the lowest limb. I dangled from the tree as I frantically scrambled to pull myself up the rest of the way onto the branch. As I struggled, the creature reached me and struck my leg before I could pull it up higher.

“AHH,” I screamed out in pain. Chocking back my sobs, I climbed higher.

I reached a point in the tree, where I felt a fall from this height would break my legs. Looking down my heart stopped in my chest. _It was climbing up after me_. Stupid! Of course! Climbing up trees was to get away from bears, not whatever the hell this thing was. I was an idiot, and I had signed my death warrant by leaving myself nowhere to go to get away from this thing.

It continued, slowly but surely, to climb up the trunk towards me. It was then that I noticed this thing was injured. It was struggling to climb the tree due to some missing limbs, but it still had enough that it had no great trouble climbing the tree. Besides, a couple missing legs did not make it any less dangerous to me, it was still plenty capable of finishing me off. Desperately I tried to find a way out of this mess I had gotten myself into. I looked down. No way I could jump down, it would just leave myself incapacitated and available to eat. I looked down the trunk, the bug was almost at my branch, I could see its circular maw full of razor-sharp teeth open wide to screech at me.

I could not climb down since the monster was blocking my route to the ground. I was stuck. The thing pulled itself onto my branch as a backed away from it. I balanced precariously as the tree bough began to shake and bow under our combined weight. As it got closer, I began to lose my balance and my foot slipped from the branch. It lunged for me and used its legs to grab me, but I had already begun to fall. It held tight, not wanting to lose its prey, so in the end we both fell from the tree. I screamed the whole way down.

We landed with a thunderous crash, and I sank into its softer underbelly, crushing the bug and breaking my fall. I tried to get up but found I could not move my leg. I looked down and saw a barbed claw sticking out through my leg.

“Ugh...” I let out a pained groan as I rolled over onto the grass, away from the bug.

Propping myself against a tree I was finally able to stand up, somewhat. I looked down at my predator. A mauve carapace covered the entirety of what looked like a giant centipede with even bigger segmented limbs. The legs were serrated, or barbed. The ones that remained attached anyway. Several had become detached from the fall, including the one still protruding from my leg. Then one of the legs twitched.

“How!” I shouted. It was still alive.

Anger filled my veins as I limped over to the injured monster. I stumbled and fell. Lying next to me was a branch that had snapped off when we fell from the tree. I grabbed it and used it to prop myself back up like a crutch. I hobbled back over to the thing and before it could rouse itself, and I swung my branch into its head. It bounced of the carapace, but I would not let that stop me, I was not going to let myself die today.

I swung my weapon again and again, eventually breaking apart the cracked carapace guarding its head. I stabbed down relentlessly as I sprayed this creature’s yellow blood and brain matter everywhere. Still, I hacked at it, screaming with all the pain and rage my throat could muster. By the time I came back to my senses, nothing remained of the bug’s head and it had long since stopped twitching. I stood there panting, as blood dripped off the end of my staff. I suddenly felt very lightheaded and I fell.

I was so very tired.

\---

It took a long time to limp and crawl my way back to the stream. I let myself fall into it without any struggle to stay upright. I pushed myself over and allowed my face to stay above the water. Struggling, I eventually peeled my wet and bloody shirt off and dropped it on the embankment. I let the water wash away the dirt and drying blood, both mine and the monster’s. Slowly my hands searched my body. The scrape on my back was shallow and the wound was numb. I moved on to inspect my main concern, my leg. The barbed limb protruded up through the same calf the thing had sliced open earlier, all that was left was to do was remove the leg and wrap the wound.

Easier said than done, I thought to myself. Just sitting up made me dizzy, and I had lost a lot of blood. The leg was barbed, so I either had to cut the barbs off and pull it out, or I would have to…

“AAAGH!” I forced the severed limb the rest of the way through my leg.

This way the barbs wouldn’t tear the wound any larger than it already was. Like pulling out a fishhook, if the fishhook was thirteen inches long and came off an evil centipede. My head swam with pain and my vision went white for a moment. Panting, I pulled myself from the stream over to a bush that had large leaves.

“This’ll do, it has to.” I pulled several from the shrub.

Wetting the leaves in the stream let them stick to my leg and back a little easier. It wasn’t enough, I needed something to hold them in place and apply pressure. My fingers found my shirt, but I lacked the strength to tear off strips of the cloth. I felt so weak, so tired. My other hand grasped the limb I had removed from my leg, it was incredibly sharp. It made quick work of my shirt, cutting off strips along the bottom that I used to tie around my wounds. I was still bleeding, but it was much slower now.

Hopefully, it would be enough. It had to be enough. Half delirious I made my way back to a cave I had spotted earlier when running away, half from memory, half by instinct. It was more of a small recess in a boulder, but it would make a great shelter. I allowed myself to rest against the stone wall as I finally lost consciousness.

[Survivor Level 3!]

[Skill – Acute Senses obtained!]

[Skill – Natural Poison Resistance obtained!]


End file.
